Totals
- Total revenue
- $1,039,643
- Total expenses
- $1,113,432
- Contributions and grants received
- $880,008
- Grants paid
- $0
- Program service revenue
- $143,252
- Investment income
- $16,383
- Other revenue
- $0
- Total assets, end of year
- $2,975,175
- Total liabilities, end of year
- $82,936
- Net assets or fund balances, end of year
- $2,892,239
- Program services expenses (Part IX)
- $771,724
- Management and general expenses
- $160,451
- Fundraising expenses
- $181,257
- Program service expenses (Part III)
- $771,724
Program services were 69.3% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.
Line items
Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.
Revenue
Part VIII, the statement of revenue.
-
1f · All other contributions, gifts and grants
$880,008
-
1g · Noncash contributions included above
$940
-
2a · Program service revenue: Educational support
total $143,252 · related or exempt $143,252
-
3 · Investment income
total $16,383 · excluded $16,383
Functional expenses
Part IX, the statement of functional expenses.
-
1 · Grants to domestic organizations and governments
total $0
-
2 · Grants to domestic individuals
total $0
-
3 · Grants to foreign organizations and individuals
total $0
-
4 · Benefits paid to or for members
total $0
-
5 · Compensation of officers, directors and key employees
total $122,281 · program services $79,483 · management and general $18,342 · fundraising $24,456
-
6 · Compensation of disqualified persons
total $0
-
7 · Other salaries and wages
total $504,872 · program services $378,220 · management and general $25,678 · fundraising $100,974
-
8 · Pension plan contributions
total $7,455 · program services $4,846 · management and general $1,118 · fundraising $1,491
-
9 · Other employee benefits
total $28,244 · program services $21,333 · management and general $1,262 · fundraising $5,649
-
10 · Payroll taxes
total $46,028 · program services $33,600 · management and general $3,222 · fundraising $9,206
-
11a · Fees: management
total $0
-
11b · Fees: legal
total $299 · management and general $299
-
11c · Fees: accounting
total $9,795 · program services $1,167 · management and general $8,269 · fundraising $359
-
11d · Fees: lobbying
total $0
-
11f · Fees: investment management
total $0
-
11g · Fees: other
total $77,656 · program services $22,550 · management and general $55,106
-
12 · Advertising and promotion
total $661 · fundraising $661
-
13 · Office expenses
total $40,586 · program services $23,327 · management and general $10,354 · fundraising $6,905
-
14 · Information technology
total $44,398 · program services $28,858 · management and general $6,660 · fundraising $8,880
-
15 · Royalties
total $0
-
16 · Occupancy
total $17,811 · program services $11,577 · management and general $2,672 · fundraising $3,562
-
17 · Travel
total $4,489 · program services $2,859 · management and general $639 · fundraising $991
-
18 · Travel or entertainment for public officials
total $0
-
19 · Conferences, conventions and meetings
total $0
-
20 · Interest
total $0
-
21 · Payments to affiliates
total $0
-
22 · Depreciation, depletion and amortization
total $60,227 · program services $39,148 · management and general $9,034 · fundraising $12,045
-
23 · Insurance
total $10,010 · management and general $10,010
-
24a · Other expenses: Employees and volunteers
total $4,680 · program services $1,452 · management and general $3,228
-
24b · Other expenses: Books
total $85,446 · program services $85,446
-
24c · Other expenses: Repairs and maintenance
total $30,386 · program services $19,750 · management and general $4,558 · fundraising $6,078
-
24d · Other expenses: Program expenses
total $18,108 · program services $18,108
-
24e · All other expenses
total $0
Balance sheet
Part X, book values.
-
1 · Cash, non-interest-bearing
beginning of year $539,933 · end of year $204,272
-
2 · Savings and temporary cash investments
beginning of year $362,037 · end of year $632,595
-
3 · Pledges and grants receivable
beginning of year $58,500 · end of year $66,175
-
4 · Accounts receivable
beginning of year $30,897 · end of year $95,126
-
9 · Prepaid expenses and deferred charges
beginning of year $1,870 · end of year $5,534
-
10a · Land, buildings and equipment: cost or other basis
$2,012,894
-
10b · Land, buildings and equipment: accumulated depreciation
$60,227
-
10c · Land, buildings and equipment, net
beginning of year $2,002,100 · end of year $1,952,667
-
11 · Investments: publicly traded securities
beginning of year $13,889 · end of year $15,078
-
15 · Other assets
beginning of year $11,075 · end of year $3,728
-
17 · Accounts payable and accrued expenses
beginning of year $44,387 · end of year $79,208
-
25 · Other liabilities
beginning of year $11,075 · end of year $3,728
-
27 · Net assets without donor restrictions
beginning of year $2,854,350 · end of year $2,648,077
-
28 · Net assets with donor restrictions
beginning of year $110,489 · end of year $244,162
Mission and programs · 2023
Mission
At Words Alive, we know that whole communities thrive when everyone reads. Our programs empower learners facing extraordinary life circumstances such as unstable housing, poverty, foster care, and impact by the justice system. Words Alive prioritizes the populations disproportionately impacted by the literacy crisis.
Activities or mission (Part I)
At Words Alive, we envision a world where everyone is connected to the power of reading and the innumerable ways it enriches our lives.
-
Read Aloud Program volunteers share the joy of a good story while helping children develop the cognitive, language, and social-emotional skills needed to be capable readers. Our program inspires students to be curious, courageous, and compassionate by exploring diverse and relevant books together with caring adults. We provided weekly read aloud experiences and new books to 1,862 students across 22 partner sites over the 2023-24 program year.Students took home over 8,000 books and 7,000 custom bilingual learning kits to deepen connection to the text.
Expenses $424,448 · Revenue $12,293
-
Family Literacy Program inspires parents and family caregivers to make exploring books a robust family habit by connecting reading and play.Parents and caregivers receive new childrens books to grow their personal libraries and learn engagement strategies and exploratory activities to use reading as a family at home. Families report reading more often together, for longer periods of time, and practicing positive reading behaviors with their children. Offered in English and Spanish, this six-week workshop series reached 1,153 families in the 2023-24 program year and distributed nearly 7,000 books, each paired with a custom bilingual learning kit designed to bring the book alive. An additional 2,000 books were distributed through outreach events to help drive program registration and awareness at partner sites in historically disinvested neighborhoods.
Expenses $154,345 · Revenue $117,164
-
Adolescent Book Group ignites a love of reading by connecting teenagers with volunteer facilitators to discuss, write, and create projects that bring books alive. As students share perspectives in this safe space, they improve communication skills, gain confidence, and enhance their ability to express themselves authentically. Diverse and contemporary text are explored through discussion groups, text analysis, writing workshops, and author or illustrator visits. During the 2023-24 program year, we brought reading alive for 195 teens and tweens. We distributed 395 engaging books to young readers, resulting in an average increase of 60 percent in the size of participants personal libraries.
Expenses $192,931 · Revenue $13,795
As filed on the 2023 return.
Listed in Part VII
-
Rachael Orose
Executive Director 7/1/23-1/31/24
- Total calculated
- $121,836
- From this org
- $119,447
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $2,389
- Hours/week
- 40
-
T Hampton Dohrman
Executive Director 2/1/24-6/30/24
- Total calculated
- $46,420
- From this org
- $46,420
- From related orgs
- $0
- Other
- $0
- Hours/week
- 40
-
Laura Kohn
Chair 7/1/23-12/31/23
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Meredith Baratz
Chair 1/1/24-6/30/24
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Karen Silberman
Immediate Past Chair
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Karen Malin
Secretary
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Sandra Korwek
Treasurer 7/1/23-12/31/23
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Nick Giordano
Treasurer 1/1/24-6/30/24
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Orville Brown
Director 7/1/23-12/31/23
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Rick Seidenwurm
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Mike Skerlos
Director 7/1/23-12/31/23
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Andrea MacDonald
Director 7/1/23-12/31/23
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Tammy Carpowich
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Brian Fidler
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Julie Dubick
Vice Chair 1/1/24-6/30/24
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Julia Loman
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Laura Galinson
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Bijan Nowroozian
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Collen Smiley
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
-
Jon Yonemitsu
Director
- Total calculated
- $0
- Hours/week
- 2
Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.
Grants on this return
No itemized grants to organizations on this return.
Provenance
- Return type
- form_990
- Tax year
- 2023
- Filed
- 18 March 2025
- IRS schema version
- 2023v6.0
- Source object
- 202540799349300309
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